Probably, few people think about the presence of pathogenic bacteria in food, eating canned foods. In fact, it is in canned foods, especially home-made ones, that pathogenic bacteria can be found that provoke the development of a very dangerous disease - botulism. How does the botulism bacterium get on food, and why does it live in conservation? What are the symptoms of botulism?
Why can botulism symptoms develop after eating canned food
Botulism is contracted after eating canned food. The fact is that the Clostridium botulinum bacterium is found in the form of spores in the soil, feces of infected animals and people. In this way, it is possible to infect a person, but then he is only a carrier of bacterial spores. When a bacterium enters the products that are being preserved, the spore begins to multiply, since there are favorable conditions for it – lack of oxygen. That is why the symptoms of botulism in a person can only be after eating canned products of plant or animal origin.
What are the features of botulism infection: symptoms of botulism
Botulism symptoms appear after an incubation period that can last from a few hours to 10 days. Therefore, people who have eaten the same food with the sick person require medical supervision for 10 days. Another feature of botulism infection – when several people eat the same canned product from the same jar, not everyone may have symptoms of botulism. This is due to the nest-shaped arrangement of the bacterium in the product. One serving may be uncontaminated while the other will be infected with botulism.
In the development of symptoms of botulism, the initial stage and the stage of advanced clinical symptoms are distinguished. In the initial period of the disease, the symptoms of botulism are non-specific and rarely diagnosed.
There are several variants for the initial stage of symptoms of botulism:
- The gastroenteric variant is characterized by the development of cramping pains in the epigastric region. Vomiting of eaten food and weakening of the stool is possible. These symptoms are similar to food poisoning. A distinctive feature of the symptoms of botulism is the absence of fever and severe dry mouth, which in intensity prevails over the natural slight dehydration during initial dehydration. The pathognomonic symptom of botulism is the poor passage of food – "lump in throat".
- "Ocular" variant – the appearance of a grid, fog or flies before the eyes, the clarity of the contours of visible objects is lost.
- Acute respiratory failure variant – the most dangerous variant of the course of botulism, which has a lightning-fast development of acute respiratory failure with a possible fatal outcome over several hours.
Symptoms of botulism in the midst of the process: complications of botulism
All the symptoms of botulism are due to the blocking of nerve impulses by the toxins of the botulism bacteria. This happens by disrupting the synthesis of choline acetyltransferase, and, as a result, acetylcholine.
The height of the disease is characterized by pronounced ophthalmic symptoms. There is double vision, a grid or fog before the eyes, blepharoptosis develops, vertical nystagmus and persistent mydriasis.
There are problems with swallowing - and not from dry mucous membranes, but against the background of paresis of the muscles of the pharynx. There is also no pharyngeal reflex, tongue movements are limited. Possible changes in voice and phonation, the appearance of guny. With paresis of the vocal cords, loss of voice is possible. Patients complain of severe weakness and difficulty in moving. This is all the result of a violation of the transmission of nerve impulses in synapses.
But the most dangerous symptom of botulism is respiratory failure, which can lead to a dangerous complication - respiratory failure, since & nbsp; there is no transmission of nerve impulses to the respiratory muscles. Therefore, at the first symptoms of botulism, it is important to hospitalize the patient for specific treatment and observation of the patient.
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